The Voyage Charterparty Rules in this Scenario

1. The owners entered into a voyage Charterparty with (us) to transport 25,000 tonnes of
cargo from Shenzhen, China to discharge in Southampton, UK on the Vessel.

A brief overview of Owner’s description of the Vessel

(i) The vessel is classed as LLOYDS REGISTER whilst being registered in the UK.
(ii) The Bulk Carrier has the capacity for cargo of 90,000 tonnes
(iii) Is a registered member of NORT OF ENGLAND P. & I. Club, which makes it a
member of the International Group of P. & I. Clubs.
(iv) All the documents and certificates required by any applicable law as of the date of
this charter, are present onboard in order to ensure that the vessel can perform the
charter service without any obstructions.

A brief overview of Charterer’s responsibility

(i) The owner should clearly and factually state and ensure the following from the time
the vessel departs towards the loading port for the entire time the vessel is under
charterer service:
(a) All of the vessel's facilities and the vessel itself including; hull, machinery, tanks,
boilers, and equipment are in a well-maintained condition that is fit for the
voyage.
(b) A declaration from the masters, officers, and crew that the vessel is completely
safe and efficient to carry the specified cargo before and after embarking on a
voyage.
(ii) Masters should ensure the cleanliness of pumps, tanks, and lines of the vessel for the
cargo. The vessel should have her tanks ready while loading for cargo unless agreed
otherwise between the charterer and the owner, the vessel is subject to the following:
(a) The charterer can perform check-ups and inspections on the tanks before loading.
(b) The inspection could only be performed by the charterer on their own time.
(c) If the charterer's inspector is unsatisfied with the cleanliness of tanks, the owner
must have them cleaned up; this shall not cost the charterer or the owner any
valuable loading time.
 (d) Any damage found while cleaning isn't the charterer's responsibility; time spent
while fixing the problem won't count as laytime or account for demurrage.
(iii) The vessel shall perform in accordance with the provisions in the signed charter.

THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CHARTERPARTY

2. On 5th July, the vessel arrived at the loading port, arriving at the time specified.
(a) According to the VOYAGE CHARTER PARTY LAYTIME INTERPRETATION
RULES 1993 issued jointly by BIMCO, CMI, FONASBA and INTERCARGO:
"PORT" represents a place where cargo is loaded or discharged, including the usual
places where vessels wait for their turn or are ordered to wait for their turn (Pavic, D.,
2002). The vessel shall proceed to dock at any port or berth as specified by the
Charterers;
3. On 5th July, the vessel found out that its birth was full and would not be free until 72
hours; this means there was no berth "REACHABLE ON HER ARRIVAL." Three days
were wasted as no berth was available.
4. On 8th July, the vessel reaches its allocated berth; the vessel tenders a Notice of
Readiness (NOR) to the owner. The charterer is handed over Bills of Lading and the
Cargo Manifest;
(a) The Bills of Lading are dependent on the provisions of this Charter.
(b) Charterers may require the master to approve the bills of lading for the cargo
specified by the Charter.
(c) The bills of Lading shall be signed without discrimination to the charter.
(d) Charterers are required to reimburse owners against all the liabilities that come from
signing the bills of lading. The Owners are also required to reimburse the Charterers
in case of liabilities that superseded the charter, at a similar level.
(e) The bills of ladings that have been provided to the master for signature should
comply with the clauses of this charter.
(f) As provided by the terms of the charter document, bills of lading that require
signatures should mention the name of the port of discharge. As per the terms of the
charter, if the bill is to be signed with a named port of discharge, this port shall be the
same as the named port of discharge that was nominated in the charter.
 (g) Charterers shall be treated as shippers; the particulars in the bills of lading should be
treated according to the provisions in the Hague-Visby Rules' Article III, rule 3 and 5
(Berlingieri, F., 2009).
(h) The owners shall not be bound to any provisions of the charter when instructed to
discharge a part or full cargo by the Charterers;
 Except for the port mentioned in the bills of lading.
 Without providing the bills of lading unless the owners and charterers have
agreed upon reimbursement and have received orders confirming such action in
writing.
(i) The masters are not bound to sign bills of lading that mention a blockaded port. Also,
they are not required to sign bills that mention ports that are considered dangerous or
out of reach.
(j) After getting to the berth, safely afloat, the vessel can load a full cargo. However, the
amount shall not exceed the limit specified within the International Load Line
Convention (Alman, P., Cleary, W.A., Dyer, M.G., Paulling, J.R. and Salvesen, N.,
1992).
5. On 8th July, the vessel starts to load cargo; it is loaded at the rate of 1200 tonnes per
Weather Working Day (WWD), which 24-hours of continuous loading work except for
when the weather conditions caused the loading to stop. Time shall commence:
(a) 6 hours after the Vessel is ready to load or discharge.
(b) A written notice has been provided to the Charterer by the Owner's agent.
(c) Once the vessel is securely docked at the berth specified by the Charterers.

6. The charterer found out that 350 tonnes of cargo were damaged; carries on with the
loading process without consulting the owner.
7. On 27th July, the vessel finishes the loading process.
8. On 27th July, the vessel sets sail towards the discharge location.
9. The vessel is late, and it is the charterer's fault. TIME LOST WAITING FOR BERTH
TO COUNT AS LOADING TIME, i.e., Laytime.
(a) The laytime for all charter specified purposes, including loading and discharging,
shall be the number of running hours as specified by the owner in the charter.
 Charters should be allowed to load or unload cargo at any given time, given that they
incur all extra charges that come from their activities ashore.
The ship arrived on the 5th of July. Docked on the designated berth by the 8th of July.
The Notice of Readiness (NOR) was tendered on the 8th of July and the laytime
commenced on the same date. The vessel was loaded with cargo starting the 8th of July
and there were no periods of suspension. The cargo was fully loaded by the 27th of July,
the laytime was terminated on the 27th of July as well as the ship began its voyage
towards the designated discharge port. The vessel would be on the laytime for a period
of 19 days.
10. The VHF channel 16 delivers a distress message while the Vessel is on its way to
discharge location in the Indian Ocean, the distress Vessel is on a 35NM reverse course.
According to (Røsæg, 2020) all ships are required to help people in distress at sea.
 According to (The Merchant Shipping (Distress Signals and Prevention of
Collisions) Regulations 1996), all vessels should help when they receive distress
signals as per the Annex IV to the International Regulations. Furthermore,
according to the United Nations, all ships have a duty to assist those in distress
under the United Nation's 1982 Convention of the Law of the Sea. Article 98(1)
of the UN's Convention clearly states " every country shall require the master of
a ship which has its flag to help anyone found at the sea, who is in danger, to
rescue all who are in distress at the highest possible speed when informed or
signalled of immediate help, without endangering the ship, passengers, and the
crew.
11. The SAR relieved the vessel from helping.
12. The vessel subsequently has a collision with a VLCC.
13. The vessel is severely damaged and requires salvage operations to get it to the nearest
place of refuge.
 Throughout the Charter service, Owners shall ensure that the vessel shall be
maintained, or that they shall take all steps necessary to promptly restore the
vessel to be operational and, in the condition, it was in when the charter
agreement was signed.
  From a maritime standpoint, salvage can be defined as " the reward for saving
someone else's property at sea." (Robinson, 1933), quotes Mr. Justice Clifford
according to whom ("Salvage is the compensation allowed to persons by whose
assistance a ship or her cargo has been saved, in whole or in part, from
impending peril on the sea, or in recovering such property from actual loss, as in
cases of shipwreck, derelict, or recapture. Success is essential to the claim; as if
the property is not saved, or if it perish, or in case of capture if it is not retaken,
no compensation can be allowed").
14. The owner refuses to put a salvage bond forward and the salvor places a lien on the
vessel.
 From an Admiralty point of view, Maritime Liens refers to a privileged claim
regarding sea-connected property for the injuries it caused or the services that
were provided to it. According to British Law, the creditor has the right to
withhold the debtor's property until they are reimbursed.
(a) If the liability for a collision involving this vessel while performing the duties
within the charter is to be determined by consulting the laws of International
Admiralty, BIMCO’s Both-to-Blame Collision Clause, which shall be
incorporated in all the bills of lading issued according to this charter shall apply:
“If the Vessel comes into collision with another ship as a result of the negligence
of the other ship and any act, neglect or default of the Master, Mariner, Pilot or
the servants of the Carrier in the navigation or in the management of the Vessel,
the owners of the cargo carried hereunder will indemnify the Carrier against all
loss or liability to the other or non- carrying ship or her Owners in so far as such
loss or liability represents loss of, or damage to, or any claim whatsoever of the
owners of said cargo, paid or payable by the other or non-carrying ship or her
Owners to the owners of said cargo and set-off, recouped or recovered by the
other or non-carrying ship or her Owners as part of their claim against the
carrying Vessel or Carrier. The foregoing provisions shall also apply where the
Owners, operators or those in charge of any ship or ships or objects other than, or
in addition to, the colliding ships or objects are at fault in respect of a collision or
contact.” (Barnett, R.B., 1953).
15. The vessel continues its journey and arrives at St Helens Fort, Southampton, UK. Here it
awaits the embarkation of the Pilot.
 The amended version of the 1987 Pilotage Act governs the British pilotage. The
Merchant Shipping Act of 1894 continues to define the legal status of a maritime
pilot to this day as follows: “any person not belonging to a ship who has the
conduct thereof” (Pulling, A., 1894).
 Shell UK Ltd.’s additional clauses within the English shipping law, refers to the
pilots' clause in the following words: "Owners shall always employ pilots for
berthing and unberthing of vessels at all ports and/or berths under this Charter
unless prior exemption is given by correct and authorized personnel. Owners to
confirm in writing that either pilotage is being arranged or they have obtained an
exemption" (SHELLVOY 6, 2005).
 (Pilotage Act, 1987) states "Subject to the provisions of this section, if a
competent harbour authority considers that in the interests of safety it should do
so, it shall direct that pilotage shall be compulsory for ships navigating in any
area or part of an area..."
 According to section 2 of the 1987 Pilotage Act: "Each competent harbour
authority shall keep under consideration— (a)whether any and, if so, what
pilotage services need to be provided to secure the safety of ships navigating in
or in the approaches to its harbour; and (b)whether in the interests of safety
pilotage should be compulsory for ships navigating in any part of that harbour or
its approaches and, if so, for which ships and in which circumstances and what
pilotage services need to be provided for those ships," and "Each competent
harbour authority shall provide such pilotage services as it considers need to be
provided as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) and (b) above" (Pilotage Act, 1987).
 According to The Public Health (Ships) Regulations 1979 section 14, "Where a
ship is in a arrive in a district and therefore the master of that ship encompasses a
report back to create per regulation 13(1)(a), (b) or (c), the master shall, once the
ship comes among the district, show or offer between sunrise and sunset the
acceptable day signal launched partly VIII of the International Code of Signals as
reproduced in Schedule one, and between sunset and sunrise the night signal
 started therein Schedule. (2) The signal needed by the preceding paragraph of
this regulation shall still be shown or given till the ship is granted free pratique
by AN authorized officer" (The Public Health (Ships) Regulations, 1979).
 Section 11 of the aforementioned act states, " The master of a ship on arrival or
already during a district shall — (a) answer all queries on the health conditions
on board might which can be placed to him by a customs officer or Associate in
Nursing authorized officer and furnish any such officer with all such data and
help as he may fairly need for the needs of those regulations; (c) comply with
these regulations, and with any directions or requirements of an authorized
officer or customs officer given or made for these regulations" (The Public
Health (Ships) Regulations, 1979).
 Section 22 reads: "The authorized officer may for the purposes of these
regulations direct that any ship from a foreign port shall on arrival be taken to a
mooring station for medical inspection, and he may, if a customs officer is to be
the first officer to board the ship, give a notice in writing of such direction to the
customs officer, who shall deliver the notice to the master" (The Public Health
(Ships) Regulations, 1979).
 Section 23 states: "Where on the arrival of a ship from a foreign port it appears to
a customs officer, from information in the Maritime Declaration of Health or
otherwise, that the ship— (a) has during its voyage been in an infected area; or
(b) is one to which regulation 21(1) applies, he shall direct the master to take it to
a mooring station for detention there unless an authorized officer otherwise
allows or directs." (The Public Health (Ships) Regulations, 1979).
 Section 24 of The Public Health (Ships) Regulations 1979 states: "If after the
arrival of a ship a case of disease subject to the International Health Regulations
or of Lassa fever, rabies, viral haemorrhagic fever or Marburg disease occurs on
board, or an animal infected with any such disease is discovered or suspected of
being on board, the authorised officer may direct the master to take the ship to a
mooring station." (The Public Health (Ships) Regulations, 1979).
 Sections 26 and 27 respectively state: "An authorised officer may detain, or give
notice in writing to a customs officer to detain, any ship for medical inspection at
 its place of mooring (not being a mooring station) or at its place of discharge or
loading, and The detention of a ship by a customs officer under these regulations
shall cease as soon as the ship has been inspected by the medical officer or, if
such inspection has not commenced within twelve hours after the ship has been
so detained, on the expiration of that period: Provided that nothing in this
regulation shall affect the power of the authorised officer to continue the
detention of a ship under regulation 28. (The Public Health (Ships) Regulations,
1979).
16. Arrival at Southampton; the light dues certificate is out of date.
 Light Dues could be a tax, the rates that area unit set annually by the various
Shipping Ministers of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
 "Trinity House has a statutory duty to collect General Light Dues from vessels
calling at UK and Irish ports. Light Dues collected are paid into the General
Light-House Fund under the stewardship of the Department for Transport. The
fund finances the work of Trinity House, the Northern Lighthouse Board
(Scotland and the Isle of Man) and the Commissioners of Irish Lights (Ireland)"
(Light Dues, 2021).
 According to The Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) Regulations 1997,"(1), The
amounts of general light dues which may be levied under section 205(2) of the
Merchant Shipping Act 1995 shall be those set out in the scale of payments in
Part II of Schedule 2 to these Regulations. (2) Light dues shall be levied in
accordance with the rules set out in Part III of the said Schedule 2" (The
Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) Regulations 1997).
 The Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) Regulations 1997 also states, "(1) In
respect of ships of all other classes, subject to a minimum charge of £60 per
voyage and to paragraph (2) below, the amount of light dues per voyage shall be
41 pence per ton, and A payment on account of light dues made under paragraph
(1) above in any year shall not entitle the ship to— (a)any exemption from dues
in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (2) above; or (b)any limitation of
liability for dues in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (4) above,
 beyond 30th April in the following year" (The Merchant Shipping (Light Dues)
Regulations 1997).
 Finally, according to the English Law, "Dues payable under paragraph 3 of the
scale of payments and the payments referred to in Rule 4 below shall be tendered
at the port where the liability arises except as the general lighthouse authority
otherwise allows" (The Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) Regulations 1997).
Reference List
Røsæg, E., 2020. The duty to rescue refugees and migrants at sea. [Blog] Available at:
<https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-
criminologies/blog/2020/03/duty-rescue> [Accessed 14 March 2021].

Alman, P., Cleary, W.A., Dyer, M.G., Paulling, J.R. and Salvesen, N., 1992. The international load line
convention: crossroad to the future. Marine Technology and SNAME News, 29(04), pp.233-249.

Pavic, D., 2002. Voyage Charterparty Laytime Interpretation Rules, 1993. Poredbeno Pomorsko
Pravo, 156, p.34.

Berlingieri, F., 2009. A comparative analysis of the Hague-Visby Rules, the Hamburg Rules and the
Rotterdam Rules. Paper delivered at the General Assembly of the AMD, Marrakesh, pp.5-6.

Barnett, R.B., 1953. Admiralty: Validity of" Both-to-Blame" Clause in Bill of Lading. Michigan Law
Review, 51(3), pp.430-432.

Pulling, A., 1894. The Shipping Code: Being the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. C. 60) with
Introduction, Notes, Tables, Rules, Orders, Forms, and a Full Index. Sweet and Maxwell.

2005. SHELLVOY 6. 1st ed. [pdf] BIMCO, p.24. Available at:

<http://www.fleetle.com/a/d/pdf/shellvoy_6_ver_1_1.pdf> [Accessed 14 March 2021].

Pilotage Act 1987. 33.

The Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) Regulations 1997.

The Public Health (Ships) Regulations 1979. 44.

The Merchant Shipping (Distress Signals and Prevention of Collisions) Regulations 1996. 75.